Parwinder Sandhu
New Delhi, December 19 (UNI) Open-source intelligence (OSINT) expert Damien Symon has debunked viral pro-Pakistan claims circulating on social media that alleged damage to Indian military infrastructure, including Pathankot airbase and Tibri cantonment, in Punjab, during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
The claims suggested that Pakistani strikes had damaged hangars at the Pathankot Airbase and the Tibri Cantonment heliport in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, allegedly forcing their reconstruction. To counter Pakistan’s claims, Symon shared satellite imagery from May 2025 alongside the circulating posts, stating that there is no evidence to support these assertions.
“Imagery is now being circulated to suggest that Pakistani strikes at Pathankot Airbase & Tibri Cantonment in Punjab, India, damaged hangars leading to their reconstruction — however data from May 2025 shows none of the suggested targets were ever damaged,” Symon wrote on X.
He further flagged specific images shared on social media, including one dated November 28 that claimed a “new roof” had been installed at a damaged hangar in Pathankot, and another alleging reconstruction at the Tibri cantonment heliport.
Symon highlighted that the satellite imagery captured on May 11, 2025, shows the hangars intact, with no visible damage or reconstruction activity. “Hangar intact, no damage visible. Newer imagery shows no new roof has been installed,” he noted.
Earlier, Symon had also countered misinformation claiming that the Radha Soami Satsang headquarters at Dera Beas in Punjab was a weapons storage facility targeted during the conflict. He clarified that the image being circulated as evidence of a Pakistani strike was “misleading” and actually “depicted the religious site,” which remained undamaged during the India–Pakistan hostilities in May 2025.
“An image now circulating as evidence of Pakistani strikes at a “weapons storage facility in Beas, Punjab, India” is misleading – verification confirms it is actually of a religious site called “Dera Beas” & was never damaged during the India-Pakistan May 2025 conflict,” he wrote in a post on X.
During the press briefing, the Indian government firmly dismissed claims that Pakistani military strikes had caused damage to Indian air bases.
At the briefing addressed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, officials presented a time-stamped photograph of an air base. The image showed the facility intact, countering the misinformation being circulated.
